Cultivar

Cultivar

"Heather Shayne Blakeslee has been kicking around Philadelphia’s nu-folk scene — first with her all-girl old-time music ensemble The Estelles, then as a solo artist — for a while. And since one of her biggest fans is Gene Shay, the host of WXPN’s The Folk Show, she’s got the old-folk scene behind her as well. With all that fanfare, Blakeslee’s newest band, Sweetbriar Rose, takes advantage of the towering talents she displayed as an Estelle (a luxuriously husky and sexy voice; smart, bookish lyrics) combined with the efforts of this city’s most down-and-dirty bluegrass, blues and C&W players like pianist Joy Thiessen (of The Estelles) and mandolinist EJ Simpson (of Maggie, Pierce & EJ). Sweetbriar’s new Cultivar (Little Red) is Blakeslee’s first recording in a decade, a noir-ish, moody, murder-ballad-filled epic rife with three-part harmonies and weirdly jazzy rhythms. An impressive and spooky return." A.D. Amorosi, Philadelphia City Paper

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The debut album by Philadelphia Americana and folk noir favorite Sweetbriar Rose. All songs by Heather Shayne Blakeslee. 2013